PHOENIX- Attorney General Mark Brnovich today filed a formal comment with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), supporting the FTC’s Class Action Fairness Project and the FTC’s pending proposal to conduct a study examining consumer perception and comprehension of class action notices. Attorney General Brnovich’s formal comment will help ensure that the FTC can obtain approval for the study from the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.

The proposed study is a major component of the FTC’s Class Action Fairness Project. These notices are key to consumers being able to protect their rights in connection with class action settlements. Yet under the present notice system, class member engagement in the class action settlement process is consistently very low, leaving consumers at risk since their interests often conflict with those of others in the case, including class action lawyers and Defendants.

Attorney General Brnovich provided the following comment:

“Protecting consumers in the class action settlement process continues to be our top priority. Our efforts to date, and the briefs we have filed with bipartisan support, have produced meaningful results for consumers, including improved settlement terms that make sure that consumers get a real benefit from class action settlements that affect their rights. But increasing consumer involvement is also a key component of ensuring better outcomes for consumers. The proposed FTC study will help with that. It will provide insights into the failings of the current class action notice process and help bolster efforts to reform the process to produce more consumer engagement and better consumer outcomes.”

Attorney General Brnovich has been leading bipartisan efforts to protect consumers from being abused in connection with class action settlements, including filing briefs to object to unfair settlements. The FTC comment filed today continues those efforts on an important consumer protection issue.

Having received public comments on the study, the FTC will soon seek final review and approval from the Office of Management and Budget